


How to Make a French-Roast Irish

by Thom_R_Phan



Series: RWBY Meets Midsomer AU [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Engagement, F/M, Post-Graduation, Sequel, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-11-06 19:13:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17945510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thom_R_Phan/pseuds/Thom_R_Phan
Summary: Team CFVY has grown up, with Velvet and Yatsu moving to Japan for Graduate School, while Coco and Fox are stuck in Midsomer trying to decide where they are going with their life. They only thing certain, they want to go there together.





	1. Grind Beans

\- - -<<1>>\- - -

Grind Beans

VAV

V

Fox was never one to abuse his powers. He had other concerns without any of those moral conundrums, and he honestly believed it made him a better teacher. He wasn’t without fault, but he was open about his mistakes and perfectly willing to allow others to scrutinize them. The only real exceptions was that between working at Ironwood’s and ‘club president’ for Judo Club, he could always find an empty room to train in.

Course with personalities like Merc and Yang, the room was far from empty. Neither of them were talking, too busy working on their stand-up game, but even just by the sound of their feet on the mats and heavy breath they filled the room with.

They were both moving too hard, too fast. It made for exciting matches, but also bad practice. They needed to slow down and drill the techniques properly. He even opened his mouth to say so.

“I’m thinking of asking Coco to marry me.”

One pf the pairs of feet stopped moving immediately, while the other saw his opportunity. Fox didn’t need sight to know Yang was flying through the air for a split-second here. Crashing into the mats with that almost reassuring dull thud he had plenty of experience with himself.

The ground fight however was something she also had more practice with, and while Fox tried his best to organize his thoughts. His back drop was the scuffling on the mats as she took a dominant position that gave her room to talk.

“Sorry Fox, what did you say?”

“I want to ask Coco to marry me.”

There was a quick pause, probably the two fighters exchanging a look, before they returned to their room. Dropping the pace considerably as Yang kept talking. “Not much of a segue their.”

“Well, we’re all graduating soon. Just one more semester left. Coco’s already half done with her Master’s Thesis, and I only have one more class to finish for my degree. Even you two are almost done.”

“Yeah, but that’s not really a reason to marry.”

“No, but it is the reason I got to thinking about future plans.”

“Started applying for jobs?”

“Checking out options, but nothing feels right.”

“What would you like to do?”

“Go professional.”

Mercury spoke up for the first time as if on cue. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

With a wry look, Fox lifted his head so he lay his palest blues on the spar as Yang tried to slap Merc for being his jerk self only to miss her mark and hit him in the leg. The gong effect a more dramatic punchline than the joke deserved.

“What? I can totally hook him up. We’d make a killing.”

“Coco would kill me. And Velvet would alibi her for it.”

“Not Yatsu?” Yangs said to add some levity.

“No, someone has to dig the unmarked grave.”

“Well, that used up my helpfulness for the week.” Mercury said.

“What about Ironwood?” Her words punctuated by a rather enthusiastic Mercury, tapping out from whatever punishment his sparring partner had decided fitted. “Your turn, Fox.”

Pushing himself up, Fox passed Yang as she took her place on the sideline. Straightening his go as he and Mercury shook hands, and started their spar. Mercury didn’t was any time, pummeling his grips up Fox’s arms so he could get his hands around the collars. Probably setting himself up for a sacrifice throw. Fox debated a second if he should give him the throw and recover, or not. Casually balancing through Mercury’s jostling the entire time.

Not, he decided. Using both hands to break one of the collar grips. Twisting the hand into a wrist lock so he could lower them both down to the ground nice and slowly. Fighting all the way, since despite his contortion, Mercury was adamant about keeping his other grip and denying any clear submission from this lock.

“That’s a good way to hurt your wrist.”

“Not the first time.”

“I kind of figured that’d have to stop working at Ironwoods after I graduate. I only work there part-time, and mostly take the odd hours since I had more flexibility because of college.” Redirecting the conversation back to the real world.

“But won’t you have more flexibility after graduation?”

“I guess, technically, but I still wouldn’t earn enough. Plus Coco is probably going to move for works, so no telling where we might end up.”

“Are you at least staying here in Midsomer? Or England?”

Fox paused in the middle of his kumira, looking aside in thought. Long enough for Mercury to roll free and stand back up. “Pretty sure. Coco has never been happy with traveling more than a week or so. Plus, I know at one point her company had said they wanted her in their England office.”

“Seems like a lot of unknowns. You sure about this?”

“Tell me about it.”

“Eh, could be worse.” Fox and Yang both stepped to stare at Mercury this time. He just shrugged as he continued to find the right timing, grip, and balance for a takedown. “What? All things considered, the two of them are set up in a nice place right now. You’re rents paid up until August. A part-time job that earns, what, fifteen thousand. Girlfriend’s already got a job lined up that’ll earn twice that much, and plenty for them to live off of. Plus, Fox has been teaching there for over four years, which means he’s got a strong plus for his resume and it won’t be impossible to go full time. Even if his major was pretty funky.”

“…That was actually logical.” Yang said, with no attempt at holding back her confusion at Mercury’s unusually beneficial contribution.

“Kinesiology with a focus in combining occupation and physical therapy isn’t funky.” Fox mumbled.

“I just don’t get why you want to shell out almost thousands of pounds for a piece of jewelry and a party.”

“...And that wasn’t” Clearly Yang had given up on Mercury ever understanding tact.

Mercury didn’t care, his shrug at Yang’s words turning into a feint as he dropped suddenly. Scooping Fox’s forward leg and keeping a tight grip on that same side arm as he brought him down in a kata guruma fireman’s throw.

Fox recovered too quickly though, claiming control of the ground positions. “Assuming you don’t accept answers like love and happiness, I could always point out the tax breaks are pretty nice.”

Not the words he wanted to hear coming out of his own mouths as the door to the room opened. Coco coming in and dropping a leash so that Mouse could run across the mats towards him. Her eager licks throwing off his concentration and with it the north-south choke.

“See this? This is why I don’t accept answers like love and happiness.” Said the victim trapped between a choke and a dog’s slobber.

“This is why I have a steady girlfriend and you don’t.”

Coco’s footsteps had taken her over to join Yang on the wall. While her voice showed none of the strain that a compressed engineering masters program should have. “What are those idiots arguing about now?”

Fox almost shot Yang a glare, but her improv lying had clearly gotten better. “Romance plots in action movies.”

“And Fox is in favor?”

“I think he’s just playing devil’s advocate to piss Merc off.”

“That makes more sense. Do you mind?”

“Go ahead.”

Coco’s voice focused on the fighters for a second “Babe, hurry up or we’re going to be late.”

“Got it.” Fox said with a grunt, doing his best to lock in the grip as he spoke.

“You guys have a date planned or something?” Yang asked.

“Guest lecturer, I’m supposed to attend. Don’t really have time for much else for now.” Coco said.

“You’re making the time though, which is nice.”

“I hear you there.” Pulling herself up off the floor, Coco caught Fox’s hand as he joined her off the mats. “See you around?”

“Yeah.” Yang said, with one last wave as they left.

Leaving Merc and Yang for their last round, Fox rushed through the gym showers to trade his coat of sweat for clean water and fresh clothes. Happily rejoining Coco and Mouse as she threw one arm around his shoulder, his own mirroring the action at her waist.

“You’re running late.”

“Yeah, we started talking, couldn’t hear my alarm. Can we still make it?”

“We’ll be fine, I gave us the buffer time in the schedule for this.”

“You thought I’d be late?”

“I thought we’d have time to make out under the stairs.”

“…Really?”

“No, but I used to have easier time making you blush.” He could already read that smirk being as wide as ever.

“You’ve had too many years to condition me.” With Fox pressing a kiss to her temple as apology.

“Maybe. So, Yang and Merc, that a thing?”

“Don’t think so. Why?”

“She had her eye on him the whole time I was there. ”

“Huh.”

“Yeah.”

The silence that followed was comfortable and so common-place for them these days, the time that it took for them to walk to the lecture hall could have been an hour or a minute. Stealing a kiss in the stairwell lost them a chance for actual seats. Not that they minded. Fox took the top step so he could act as a back rest while Coco too her notes in front of him. With them set up, Mouse took her chance to tangle herself up in their legs, letting her back serve as the gently rising, falling table for a well-used notebook and a microphone for Fox’s phone. Moments like these always seemed a little too perfect to Fox. The way the three of them could always just embrace each other and find that perfect fit on the first try, he thought even as he took the opportunity to pull her even closer together. Pulling Coco’s attention away from the lecture for a second as their polarity of steel and malleable body types were made even closer, enough of a distraction to earn him a joking elbow to his leg.

Coco was in her element with the lecture and to the speakers credit, he wasn’t completely lost over the finer points of applying what sounded like geometry? There was something about triangles and gear flows, and that was about the only part he could understand. Still, he took a chance to steal her pen for a second. Carefully drawing a small heart in the corner of her book, and enjoyed the way she threaded her spare hand in his as a silent agreement.

Even if that did mean he had to hold the notebook open for her to write for the next hour or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. Kicking off a sequel to Bailey's and Coffee here. Takes place when CFVY is in Graduate School (except Fox who's doing a 5 yr undergrad program). Nothing significantly different plot wise, but I think I made the overarching plot obvious. Expect some fluff, some mild angst, and hopefully a stronger ship when all is said and done.  
> I also make no promises, real-world graduate school and job hunting has everything up in the air.


	2. Bad ideas

\- - -<<0.5>>\- - -

Bad Ideas

VAV

V

She never really though about it, not if she was being honest. Life was kind of just… going. Okay, going was quite the right word.

Take tonight for instance. Coco and Velvet were having their weekly girl’s night. For anyone else, that probably meant something else. Her and Velvet had this figured out years ago. Sure there had been the one awkward time after Velvet first found out about her crush, but that was years ago. And by awkward, she meant that she had been on her absolute best behavior trying to keep her best friend only to find out Velvet had been stringing her along to see how stiff her best friend could be. Turns out the answer was stiffer than a superstructure unbound by the strictures of gravity or meteorology. Or so she was told.

“Here check my math, I think my professor is playing a prank with one of these questions.”

Shooting her friend an email, Coco started pulling up the next question on her homework glancing over at the screen. Video chats were hardly the substitute for real life homework parties, but they made do. Throwing on yet another of Velvet’s inexhaustible supply of murder mysteries while sending questions back in forth. There wasn’t much catching up to do even when halfway across the world.

“This is pi.” Velvet said

“Yep.”

“…Hidden as a calculus equation.”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“He’s one of those professors who thinks he’s funny.”

“What, no 42 jokes then?” Velvet’s voice muffled this time by the sound of sheets being shuffled too close to the laptop’s microphone.

“That was last week.”

“Wow.”

“Meh, could be worse.”

Coco paused her work to take a look at the screen. Stealing all the bandwidth between the two videos didn’t seem wholly fair unless she actually took a minute every now and then to watch said videos. It certainly made for an odd combination. One side had a group of coppers wandering around Shetland, bundled for the cold and talking about how peaceful the place was even as they managed a murder a week along with at least one petty criminal in the coppers own family; while the other side had Velvet stretched out on her bed with a combination of laptop, whiteboard, and what must have been a whole notebook disassembled into a chaotic wave of papers. No wonder she had to use her bed for homework night, nowhere else in her and Yatsu’s apartment would be big enough.

Taking a look over at her own setup, the second monitor bearing the videos perched on the corner of her desk so that she could use her laptop for work. Work which included a cheap 3-d printer she had gotten back in sophomore year as a birthday present from her parents, her notes on composite material constructional engineering, a second set of notes on coding for variable parts size, and upper level mathematics which was more straight-forward grunt work. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. That also reminded her of something.

“Is that our whiteboard?”

“Hm?” Velvet looked over towards the screen, still buried in what looked like a rough draft for some database matrix on the object in question.

“Did you pack it with you? Because I haven’t seen it since you left to head back.”

“Coco, how would this even have fit in my luggage?”

“Flush with the back. No problem.”

“How many times do I have to explain to you, normal people don’t use Adel-size luggage.”

“Sure they do. Do you know where it is then?”

“It’s in the basement, remember?”

“I already checked the basement.”

“Back behind Yatsu’s crates. He was using it to inventory everything before we left. Speaking of which, Yatsu, it’s Coco.” Velvet’s words being broken up by the sound of a door closing a continent away, and soon the background of her video was filled with.

“All right there big guy?”

“Coco, greetings.”

“Class’s still going good then?”

“Whoever comes up with educational standards for testing is quite possibly the greatest villain this world has ever created.”

“About the same as always then?”

“Were my hands around those people necks, whether it be the one or three scores, I would endeavor to strangle the life from their limbs. With that task being done, my duty to the human race would drive me to crush their chest beneath my boots and purge the unclean thoughts that have so driven them to ruin the lives of every single child they could.”

“The usual then.”

Yatsu gave one of his myriad of grunts in response, clearly apologetic about his mood. Still opting to give Velvet a kiss on the forehead before exiting the bedroom again with the rest of his opinion unsaid until he had a chance to calm down. Sometimes a good teacher doesn’t make for the best of students. If anything Coco had to laugh. From everything Velvet had told her, Yatsu hated the classes on education requirements. Which was a rarity any of his roommates could attest to. The big guy had a contentment in him that anyone would envy, but it didn’t make it any less humorous to know that even he got angry sometimes.

“Best of luck man. Try not to get in jail before you come back to us.”

VAV

The class had grown over the past four years. Used to just be him and ABRN kids, maybe Coco if she had a spare hour or two and wanted the exercise. Not like there was an overwhelming demand for blind Judo youth classes. Add in the fact that most people didn’t even know what Judo was, or how it could be a Paralympic sport, and he was never really disappointed with his small classes. Didn’t hurt that they were all good kids.

“Alright Arslan, circle them up.”

She was always better at the yelling side of things anyways.

His T.A. was quick to step up, and in half a minute the floors of the room went from a small earthquake waves from a score of feet pounding against the mats in warm-up to the gentle ripple from the circle of people trying to get comfortable on the ground. It was a calm before the storm as far as his senses were concerned, but at least this storm was constructive.

“Ready then?”

“Yeah.”

“Take them though their paces. We’re working on the Kata Guruma throw.”

This was the moment. He remembered his own so clearly, when Ironwood stopped the class and had the one kid in the class. A little, scarred, mute boy who never made small chat but always showed up to class early. ‘Fox why don’t you demonstrate the hari-kari for us’ and with that he had a purpose.

Arslan wasn’t him. She didn’t think of gym as her sole social activity. Could actually read with glasses, even if the prescription was rather high and wasn’t waiting until college to make friends or start dating. Still it was hard not to think of her in a familial way.

“Anything to add teach?”

“Not that I know of. Break up into pairs, lets go five for five. Take it slow. If you lot haven’t been practicing your fall breaks, I’ll have the ice packs and lecture ready. 1,2,3.”

“Break.” The class responded with a, mostly, simultaneous response. Turning the pond of gentle ripples into the torpedoes for him to track as the class paired up and spread themselves out around the room. Ironwood had taught coaching classes, and sent him to a couple seminars as well. Other teachers could just stay in one spot and watch, but for Fox it was critical he started moving. Circling the room so he could differentiate ripples and voices.

“Nadir, how’s school been going?”

“Good. Arslan tell you the drama tried recruiting me?”

“She mentioned something.”

“Told them I’d help out if I could be in charge of sound.”

“They say yes?”

“Surprisingly, ow, yes.”

Fox kneeled over him as the last of the reverberations from Nadir’s reverberated through his feet. “Next time Bolin, don’t talk if it’s going to distract you.”

“Yes Teach”.

“Do it again.”

Fox left the kids to their devices, with Arslan to lead the class he didn’t feel too bad to pause his vigilance just long enough to grab some water. A drink that was quickly chased down by the realization that he’d need to start calling his old students something else. They were growing, and he was on a plateau or something.

VAV

V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this reads weird its because this story was supposed to have plot, and then I wanted fluff. So occasionally plot will be ignored for more fun writing. The proper introduction will actually come next chapter.  
> Also, grumpy Yatsu is hilarious. This was definitely a missed opportunity.


	3. Wonder About the Noise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coco has a rough day, and Fox takes her out to the country for a couple days.

\- - -<<1.5>>\- - -

Wonder About the Noise

VAV

V

“Babe?”

“Hm?” Coco came up behind him, draping herself on his back with the same weary slouch that she hadn’t been able to kick all year. She had kicked off her boots in the front hall and made her way back to him in the kitchen. With her arms around his neck, a sense of security returned to the otherwise cold kitchen. His response short, Fox kept his focus on the stove top and almost seemed to be ignoring her even as he tilted his head to gently lay a kiss on one of the hands.

“We should take a vacation.” Her words mumbled as they vibrated through his spine and her head buried itself deeper between his shoulder blades.

“Long day?”

“Ungh.”

“You know we can’t really afford anything particularly nice.”

“If you want simple though, we could always head up to the Scarletina’s B&B, they're always happy to host.”

“Aunt Heather would want to catch up…”

“Are your parents local at all these days?”

“Canada.”

Sighing softly, Fox turned off the stove and moved the pan off the heat. His hand free to reach up and take of her beret so that his fingers could run through her hair. Hoping he could at least massage away some of her troubles.

Coco didn’t seem to mind, humming gently against him in gentle ripples. Her tone playful when she finally responded, “I’m not a cat, you know.”

“Cat would claw less.”

“Mmm, not that you were complaining.”

His response non-vocal, Fox instead squatted down to pick Coco up. His new backpack ignored in her chiding, “Hey now,” as he went past the kitchen table. Favoring the more sympathetic living room and their well-loved couch. As she made herself comfortable, he soon returned with dinner. Careful to not disturb her as he guided a half asleep girlfriend through the meal. They didn’t even bother with small talk. She was probably too tired to focus anyways. Only after food was eaten and dishes put away did they finally settle down, reluctantly bring out laptops from amongst the nest to do homework instead of retiring immediately. Fox took his place on the opposite end so neither keyboards would be obstructed, facing her with both pair of legs resting between them in a bridge of supporting comfort and contact. He could hear her, trying to stifle a yawn as her legs stiffened and stretch from amidst their entanglement. It seemed only fair that he gave her a light kick of reproach.

“Stop that.”

“Make me.” But neither were keen to move from their comfortable work stations to stop the contagion from spreading as he was already stifling his own yawn of response.

“…What do you think about spending a couple of days at my parents place?” There was no tenseness in her legs to tell him how she felt, but given how tired she was, that wasn’t as surefire a clue as usual. Catching her before she could respond. “We’d have to do weekdays no matter what, so dad would have work during the day. And mom’s getting ready for her garden festival, so it’d really just be us except for dinner.”

“Your dad ever fix the wifi?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“But he did ask if you’d check the well-pump next time you visit. Says it’s been making a weird noise.”

“Your dad’s a better salesman than you are. Coolness. Should I call, or do you…” Her voice fading as it found itself burying deeper into the blanket and into sleep. Shifting them gently as muscles started relaxing in succession and the rhythm of her breathing slowed to inaudible levels.

He was torn for a second, between waking her up or letting his concerns take over. In the end welfare won over productivity. Slipping out to turn off the pot of decaf that had been brewing, Fox took what little had already finished for himself and found himself his own little nest on the floor next to her. Careful to keep his typing to a quiet pace that wouldn’t wake her. Soon enough he found his steady rhythm of work, while she turned herself over until their heads practically met at the seat’s edge. It didn’t make it easier to work when her sleep-driven hands found themselves playing with his hair, but turnaround was fair play and he didn’t want her any farther away.

VAV

Coco had been to the Alistair’s over a dozen times since they started dating. It was funny for her to watch because it was one of the few places where Fox would really untense. They never talked about it explicitly, but Fox was always quick to control his territory. Dishes always stacked in the exact sme order, and his clothing careully ordered away. Likewise, none of the family ever said it, but everything about the household had a strict placement about it that was turned casual by how used they were to these routines. In their own way, it really fit the household. It wasn't even formal like her parents, given one of said routines was Mr. Alistair's football club banner that was being aired out to get ready

His mom was about as textbook of an english-rose as anyone she had ever met. Which made sense when you saw her family tree that had records going back to before the norman invasion. Her hair was always carefully kept in its bun, and she seemed to have a infinite supply of florals and solids dresses as if she was getting ready for a saturday picnic straight out of an oil painting. Tea was held at 3 o'clock when the church bell tolled, and the table settings were strictly formulaic enough that even her parents' had asked if Mrs. Alistair wanted a job. She was quiet, polite, and happy to give of her time freely as everything but the village head. Her greenhouse work had won medals six years running, the festival was scheduled with alarming exactness a month in advance, and no one, not even the pastor himself, was allowed into her front hall without carefully wiping their shoes, removing their hats, and giving her hug.

Mr. Alistair on the other hand was eclectic. Which she could have guessed given his idea of a lazy sunday was sitting in a field, drinking pints, shooting bows, and debating world economics and the news with his archery club. And that was exactly how she had first met him. He had a strong accent and energy about him that probably explained why Fox seemed to never tire at the gym. Apparently he was some sort of shipping expert, the kind who could have a career job in the field, regular job offers to move around, and stil need his own small business for all his consultant work. But you'd never really guess it.

"Mr. Alistair, don't…"

The man didn't listen, loosening the bolts with his usual enthusiasm and sending a spray of oil into Coco's face.

Wiping it clear of her eyes with the rag from her pocket, she pried his hand away from the socket wrench so she could re-tighten the bolt. "There's no need to mess wirh the bolts here. Those are just securing the oil line. You said you were hearing a rattling noise right?"

"Right."

The bandsaw's bottom cover didn't come off all the way, leaving it dangling off from the work section like a wounded wing . So Coco was on her mechanics creeper, which gave them the benefit of the flashlight she had bolted on to the thing. But Mr. Alistair was kneeling and doing his best to reach up and under the cover while peering through the angular slit in the side.

"So I'm going to guess a piece of wood got shot down in here, maybe wedged in one of the joints or near the wheel. Just going to feel around here…One sec."

"What?"

"Can you pass me the thin flathead."

Handing her the screwdriver, there was a grunt of effort and a clatter as ball-bearing rebounded off the cover, rolling across Coco's chest, and scattering itself onto the garage floor. "Well there's your problem. I don't know how it got in there, but it was wedged between the bandsaw's wheel and support rod. You're lucky you heard it, I'd hate to see what happen if that turned projectile."

"Ay ya, I thought I had found all the ones that had spilled out… thanks Coco."

"No problem, Mr. Alistair. Since I'm all scrubbed up still, anything else on the bucket list?"

"I've told you before, call me Onkwani. Still, ah, we did the well-pump, oil change, band-saw… no that's it for me. I need to get cleaned up for work. Monica and Fox should be back any minute now. Do you mind if I take first shower?"

"Your house."

"Yours too. But even my office dress code is quite this lax." He said, gesturing down at his old, oil-stained jeans and a t-shirt that might have, a few years and several hundred less stains, been worth something given the rock bands later success. His sneakers were in no better shape, though at least they showed a variety of color given the oil stain there were hidden by old lawn clippings.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you could pull off the look."

"Why thank you." His chuckles following him out of the garage, shoes left there of course, just as their other halfs pulled up.

"Hey babe." She said while waving to Mrs. Alistair who carried a small bag of supplies from the local hardware store.

"Captain." Fox said, not needing to turn as he addressed her after years for her to get used to his eyesight. But he also never was one to hide his emotions from her, which he probably didn't realize made him easier to read than most people once you got to know him. Opening the car's back door sent Mouse barreling out of the seat. His sister not on duty today, since Fox had been with his mom, who she knew was about the only other person he could comfortably walk around with unassisted.

Kneeling down, Coco began to give Mouse her scratches. Idly unzipping her coveralls as she watched Fox casually throw bags of fertilizer and potting soil onto his shoulders like they weighed nothing. A part of her was a little woried her tanktop was not quite up to Mrs. Alistair's standards, but the other half realized how hot the room had gotten and was more than happy to tie off the top half to her waist as she followed the mom and son back through the garage to the greenhouse.

"I thought you'd guys be back like an hour ago."

"We would have been," Fox said, "but I couldn't get the internet to work on my phone."

"What did you need internet for?"

His words paused as he threw the bags down in their carefully assigned corner of the greenhouse, a room just as organized as any that Mrs. Alistair controlled. So not the garage that was still the mess she and Mr. Alistair had left it.

"We were checking the chemical contents for the fertilizer." Monica Alistair said.

"That's a thing?"

"For grass, not so much, but it is important for flowers. Especially since I traded for so many different kinds." Gesturing to one corner she continued, "The one's by your elbow were a gift from Fox's grandmother, so I have to be careful to not cross it with this corner which his father brought back home from China when he was working a deal there. That was what, five years back?"

"Six, it was before we got Mouse." Fox said

"That's right. By the by, you shoudl go check on her. I haven't seen her in a little while, she usually can't resist poking her head in here while we're working."

"Mom, you know she doesn't mess with your garden."

"It doesn't hurt to check. And you shouldn't make Coco stand around here waiting for an old biddy to do her potting."

With none of them in bloom yet, Coco still couldn't make out heads or tails of one green budding from the other. But Fox and Mrs. Alistair had been moving around the greenhouse with ease and there was clearly a system as to where stuff went. Fox had a couple of braille signs tacked around the edges of the tables, but seemed to work mostly by touch with the open bags. Finally content, he gave his mom a squeeze on the hand as he left.

"Anything you want to do?"

"Your dad leave up the backyard range? We could alwaysjust shoot some arrows for a bit while I'm still dirty."

"That'd be nice, no idea where he hid the 60 pounder you lover, but I know everything else is up."

"Real quick you two." Still right outside the greenhouse doorwayCoco turned alongside Fox to find Monica with her phone's camera lined up for a shot. Without breaking stride she pulled Fox tight and let her smile bleed out into a wide mouth grin behind the mask of oil she had earned earlier. She already knew whatever face Fox was trying for would end up more like a grimace, but he had apparently decided to be a cheeky blighter today and she could feel his arm wrap around her neck before quickly giving her a quick 'v' of dirt from his own messy hands.

"Jerk." Coco said, "Can you shoot me a copy, Mrs. Alistair? I need to send that one to Velvet next time she says I never do practicums. Like a physics major knows anything about getting dirty."

"She'll just say you had a stunt double."

VAV

"I'm telling you it's makeup." Velvet said. "Or she got her mom to stand in."

Yatsu shook his head. "Like Mrs. Adel would ever let anyone near her with a greasy rag."

"You say that. But I totally once conviced her I could beat her deadlift records that way. Got my brother to do stand in with a wig. And she's totally petty enough to remember that one."

Yatsu leaned over her shoulder to take a second look at the photograph. "Well it's good to know you're never the petty one of the friendship."

"Hmph!'

VAV

V

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You do not know how long I wanted a Alistair family chapter. 
> 
> And, oh jeez, whatever could Fox need internet for while shopping? Video call while shopping, usually to get Velvet's opinion, would be a Coco thing…  But this chapter is totally just fluff, and couldn't possibly be advancing plot off screen.
> 
> Also, fishing for comments, would it help if I did a small "RWBY Meets Midsomer" cast page? Given that I have about a dozen POV characters including Mouse (who is an angel and will never die) it seems worth it for you guys. And if so, any recommendations as for how to post on AO3?


End file.
